


Library of Andrea

by Petrichoraflora



Category: The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Genre: All of the everything, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Smut, also a little bit of, homeless!Andy, mildly autistic!Miranda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:46:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21799327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Petrichoraflora/pseuds/Petrichoraflora
Summary: This is about nine years after Paris. Miranda never gave Andy a reference, Andy didn't get the job but has a son to support. They're living out of her car, and Andy has a sort of job assisting a librarian. Life goes to shit when Andy gets really sick, so Nicky goes to stay with Nigel (his godfather), and Miranda gets involved of course.Note: Andy's son is autistic, and I'm basing him and his behaviour off of my cousin (who is also autistic) so please don't be mad if it doesn't seem accurate to you.
Relationships: Miranda Priestly/Andrea Sachs
Comments: 47
Kudos: 209





	1. The Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Hey peeps, here's just an idea I had. Hope ya'll enjoy

Andy pulled her sweater tighter around herself and sniffled as she piled the books in her arms and skillfully walked them over to the returns cart.

“Andy, there’s another stack of books on surgery techniques in the study nook you can grab too.” Anita called from the front desk.

Andy nodded but internally groaned.

“Got it, thanks Anita.”

She knew she had no right to complain. Anita didn’t really need an assistant, it was only a small library after all. But Andy had desperately needed a job after her time at Runway, and the older African American woman had taken a shine to Nicky.

Andy glanced over to the couch in the corner where the young boy could be seen pouring over another Fashion magazine. He’d already gone through the library’s entire collection of Runway and Vogue magazines several times. He was a smart boy, clever. The minute Nigel had put an issue of Runway in his hands he’d fallen in love with the colours and textures behind those glossy pages.

She loved her son dearly, but she often wished he could have fixated on any other industry or hobby. Instead memories of her past life haunted her in the reflection of his eyes.

Andy sighed, those magazines made him happier than anything in the world. She would never take that from him.

She made her way over to the study nook to pick up the medical books, and returned them to the cart as well. As she pulled the cart behind her down the narrow aisles and replaced the books, her mind was elsewhere.

She shivered, pulled her sweater tighter again, and coughed harshly. Fuck. She could not afford to be sick right now. It would be winter soon, and the streets were not kind. If she got sick now she would be for weeks, and then she’d pass it on to Nicky.

She felt a warm hand on her arm.

“Hey hun, are you feeling okay?” Anita asked softly.

Andy nodded.

“I think I may be getting a cold.”

“Hm.”

Anita shuffled away, and Andy relaxed. That woman was too observant for her own good. Parents brought their young children here, if she got sick enough Anita wouldn’t let her work. Though there were times when that keen mind was helpful.

She remembered after spending some time teaching Nicky, Anita had approached her quietly.

“I think that your boy, may be a little different than the other kids that come here.”

Autism. It was just another thing, but Anita’s quick observation had saved Andy so much time. She read and researched and then suddenly her son made sense to her. They had been struggling, but Anita had saved their bond that day.

Andy was forever grateful to the woman for everything she’d done. She helped Andy teach Nicky his schooling everyday, she supplied her with a job and somewhere warm for her and Nicky to spend every day. She didn’t know how she would ever repay her.

“Andy, you’ve done enough for today. Why don’t you two pack up and head home. I saved you both some hot soup from the daycare lunch earlier today.”

Andy sighed in relief. Her body and feet were aching, and her stomach growled in agreement.

“Come on Nicky.” Andy called.

Nicky didn’t respond, didn’t even move.

Anita approached the couch.

“Hey Nicky, I know it’s a little earlier than usual but you and mom are gonna head home for dinner. If you’d like, you can take that magazine with you, as long as you bring it back with you tomorrow morning.”

Nicky mouth turned into what Andy knew was a smile, as he nodded. Anita helped him off the couch, and walked him towards Andy.

Andy gave her a grateful smile and wrapped Nicky’s coat around his shoulders. He didn’t struggle, the magazine clutched tightly in his little hand.

Anita handed her two styrofoam containers, and Andy sighed as she felt the heat warm her hands.

“Thank you so much, Anita. Really, you’ve been such a great help- I don’t know how I could ever repay you.”

Anita shrugged.

“Don’t even worry your pretty little head about it.”

Andy blinked, her mind briefly bouncing back to Runway, in Miranda’s office.

_“Andrea, did you smack your pretty little head on the pavement-”_

“Andy, are you alright?”

Andy looked over at Anita, the concern was evident on her face.

“Yes, sorry. I guess I’m more tired than I thought.”

Anita nodded slowly.

“Alright.”

Anita walked the two of them to the door.

“Take care of yourselves.” Anita said softly.

Andy nodded, as she watched Nicky climb down the front steps.

“Thank you again. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Andy followed after Nicky until the two of them walked side by side down the street.

“Hey Nicky, did you have fun today?”

Nicky nodded, as he looked down at the magazine in his hand.

Andy pulled her car keys from her pocket as her beat up Rav came into view.

“It was nice of Anita to let you take the magazine with you, huh?”

Nicky nodded again.

“It’s pretty.”

Andy hummed in agreement as she remembered all the glossy pages from Runway she’d seen Miranda pouring over.

“Not like Runway though.”

That caught her attention.

“What isn’t like Runway, hun?”

Nicky frowned slightly.

“The pages in this magazine, it isn’t as coherent as Runway.”

Andy smiled as she heard the excitement creeping into his voice.

“Wow, that’s a pretty big word.”

Nicky nodded.

“Anita taught me.”

“That’s great bud!”

Andy pulled the door of the Rav open and helped Nicky into the front seat.

“Alright, now we have to put the magazine away for a bit while we eat our soup. We don’t want to ruin it, right?”

Nicky nodded solemnly as he handed Andy the magazine, and she tucked it into the blankets on the mattress in the back.

As they dug into their soup, what little conversation they had dwindled away.

The relief of the warm soup slipping down her throat was obvious in the grumbled encouragement from her stomach.

Food finished, the two of them curled up on their makeshift bed in the back of the Rav. Andy lay on her side and smoothed Nicky’s dark hair from his forehead as he flipped through the pages, no doubt analyzing it with a perfectionists eye.

It was his ninth birthday in a week, she had managed to schedule a coffee date with Nigel for the next day in order to negotiate for his birthday present. She was very hopeful she would succeed.

~

“Six! My goodness it’s been so long!”

Andy smiled softly as Nigel pulled her small frame into a hug.

“Almost ten months, not since-”

“Not since last Christmas.” Nigel confirmed.

They had kept in contact, every other week exchanging emails, but it was nice to see him.

He kissed her cheeks and twirled her around.

“My my my, not a size six anymore I see! You’re small enough you could grace Runway’s pages now! You hoping to become a model?” Nigel joked, though truly the gaunt look on her face made him worry.

“Not quite.” Andy chuckled.

Nigel pulled out her chair for her and they both sat.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

Andy took a deep breath.

“Well, I don’t know if you remember but next week-”

Nigel face lit up.

“Next week is Nicky’s birthday! Of course I remember! He’s my godson!”

Andy chuckled softly.

“Yes, I need your help getting his birthday present.”

“Alright, what were you thinking?”

Andy bit her lip.

“I wanted to get him the newest issue.”

Nigel raised his brows.

“That’s it? I was expecting a grand tour, a meet and greet with the queen herself!”

Andy shook her head firmly.

“No, I would never ask that of you Nige.”

“You know I would do it in a heartbeat.”

Andy gave him a small smile.

“I know.”

“So only the newest issue? And absolutely nothing else? You’re absolutely sure?”

Andy nodded enthusiastically.

“Then, you must at least let me take you to lunch, none of this coffee business. To make up for what I feel may be an ever lacking gift.”

Andy shook her head, her face heating up.

“No Nige, I couldn’t possibly. I can’t afford such things.”

Nigel gave her a sad smile.

“My treat, and then we must go out again for his birthday. Actually I have a few conditions if you want that issue.”

Andy frowned.

“They aren’t that bad, I promise. If you want me to get you the magazine, you must go out for lunch with me today, next week we’ll go for his birthday, and the final condition is that either you let me help you find another job, or you come stay with me. Those are my conditions.” Nigel said gently.

Andy shook her head.

“Nige, I couldn’t.”

“Those are my conditions if you want the issue.”

Andy sighed. She had to get the issue for Nicky, he would be so happy to receive it.

“You’ll give me time to think about your third condition?”

Nigel nodded.

“Of course.”

Andy sighed again, but forced her mind to focus on Nicky’s happy face when he finally got his own copy of the magazine.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

Nigel’s face split into a grin.

“Yes brilliant. Now let’s get you some real food. We can even get leftovers for Nicky.”

Andy nodded thankfully.


	2. Field Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey peeps, I know this chapter is short, but I wanted to make the next one all in one go and it's probably gonna be longer. I also know it jumps around a bit right now but eventually I think it'll chill out. Hope you enjoy!

Several days since her meeting with Nigel had passed when Andy woke up in the middle of the night struggling to breathe. Immediately her mind was filled with panic as she coughed uncontrollably and found spots of red on her pillow case.

There was blood on her pillow case, she was coughing up blood and she couldn’t breathe. Why couldn’t she breathe? What was happening to her?

As gently as she could muster she shook Nicky awake.

Half asleep and bleary eyed, he rolled over and stared at her.

“Help.” Andy wheezed.

Nicky sat up, and blinked slowly.

“Call- help.” She wheezed again.

Nicky nodded slowly, climbing out from under the covers. Silently he grabbed Andy’s purse from the front of the car and searched through it for some change. 

Andy curled into herself as she gasped for air, clutching at the sheets.

Quarters in hand, Nicky opened the car door and headed around to the front of the library where he knew there was a payphone.

Andy’s mind was swirling around in her head. He was walking down the street alone in the middle of the night what if someone grabbed him, what if someone took him. She gasped again as another bout of coughing started.

The more she panicked the worse her coughing grew and the more her lungs ached. 

Minutes passed, where was Nicky? Had someone taken him?

Andy struggled against the sheets as she dragged herself towards the door Nicky had left open upon his departure. 

Where was Nicky, why hadn’t he come back?

She managed to get herself to the door, the cold air seeping into the warmth of their tiny home. Where was Nicky? What if someone took him?

She didn’t even hear the sirens wailing and suddenly there were strong arms wrapping around her and pulling her the rest of the way out of the car. Immediately she began to fight, they weren’t going to get her that easily. They would not get her son and they would not get her either.

“Hey, easy- easy. We’re here to help you.”

Andy tried to open her eyes but found her strength lacking. She felt the man put her down on a cot.

“Yeah, she isn’t responding. We’ll need to get her to Presbyterian right away.”

It was the paramedics, Nicky had called an ambulance. She’d never be able to afford it. Where was Nicky?

My-my son.” Andy gasped, her chest hurt so bad she thought it might burst open.

“Don’t worry, he’s a smart boy. We have him in the car already, he’ll meet you at the hospital. Everything is alright.”

Andy relaxed a little, as she was loaded into the back of the ambulance. Her head felt so light that it was floating away, she couldn’t breathe. A mask was placed over her face. She could hear the steady beeping of a machine to her right.

Then the car was moving, everything was shaking as they drove over the roads. Then all of a sudden she was being lowered to the ground, the gurney was rolled into the hospital. She could see the bright lights even still from behind her eyelids, the people around her spoke quickly, she couldn’t keep up. 

What was happening to her?

~

Nigel was having a relaxing day, everything was going well. He’d managed to secure an issue of the magazine for Nicky, and in a couple of days he’d be able to give it to him. He was hoping Andy would agree to come and stay with him, then he could really spend some more time with Nicky.

What he really wanted to do was get a chance to introduce Nicky to one of his biggest heroes. The one and only Miranda Priestly, and he had ample opportunity to do so. Though he suspected it would be a lot harder to convince Andy. Especially after what happened in Paris.

There was a knock on his door.

“Come in.”

A very attractive man in a paramedics uniform entered, with Nicky in tow.

Nigel was on his feet then over in front of Nicky in seconds. He kneeled down on the floor, gently touching Nicky’s face.

“Nicky! Oh my goodness, are you okay?! Where is your mom!”

Nicky shrugged.

Nigel stood to face the paramedic.

“What happened?”

“Andrea is in the hospital, Nicky was brave and called us last night. She was having respiratory issues, coughing up blood.”

Nigel shook his head and sighed.

“I knew she wasn’t doing well, but I didn’t realize it was that bad.”

The paramedic nodded.

“Well, she’ll be in the hospital for a while. She told us to bring Nicky to you, he’s homeschooled and she doesn’t feel comfortable leaving him with anyone else.”

Nigel rubbed his hand over his head and nodded. He kneeled back down on the floor to talk to Nicky.

“Yeah, right. Okay Nicky, let’s get you set up by my desk. I’ll see if I have any magazines for you. You can read them, I might even have some you can collage with if you’d like.”

Nicky’s face lit up.

“Thanks Uncle Nigel.”

Nigel froze in surprise, but grinned. He turned back to the paramedic.

“Thank you for bringing him here. Where exactly is Andy? We’ll want to visit once I’m done here.”

“Of course, she’s at Presbyterian.”

Nigel nodded.

“Right, thank you.”

Nigel walked Nicky over to the floor next to the desk and set him up there, digging through the stacks of magazines he kept in a filing cabinet behind his desk. He placed them on the floor in front of Nicky.

“Now you can look at these, I’ll go get you some bigger sheets of paper so you can collage if you want. There are scissors and glue on the desk if you need them. I will be right back, try not to get into any trouble.”

Nicky didn’t respond, his eyes already engrossed in the stack of Runway magazines Nigel had put in front of them.

Nigel took a breath and left the office to go find him some paper. For the moment it seemed Nicky would be okay. Though in his head Nigel couldn’t help but panic a little, because he didn’t know what he would do the minute Nicky wasn’t feeling okay. Andy had told him about Nicky’s melt downs. This was completely out of the norm for Nicky, and he’d never been away from Andy for very long.

Nigel sighed, they would cross that bridge when they got to it. He was sure it would be okay. 

“Hey Jocelyn, you mind if I take some of this paper?”

Jocelyn didn’t even look up from her laptop.

“Go for it.”

Nigel took a couple pieces and headed back to his office. Nicky was sitting quietly on the floor, his nose deep in the first magazine.

“Here you go bud, I have a meeting in-” he checked his watch, “oh wow, like now. So I gotta go, but I will be back soon. Stay out of trouble.”

Nicky didn’t respond, but Nigel wasn’t expecting him to. He had a meeting with the devil.

He met Jocelyn and the rest of his team outside doors of Miranda’s precious sanctuary.

“Everyone knows their job?” Nigel asked softly.

The group nodded.

“Perfect, so let’s make this quick shall we?”

They all followed him into Miranda’s office like his ducklings, all neat in a row.

Miranda glanced up at them over her laptop screen.

“Now what do you have for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was the last chapter with limited Miranda. Next one is Miranda's POV. Anyway, hope you enjoyed that, let me know what you think!!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!!! I love to hear from you!


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